By NIKOLE JAVIER
Kai Sotto and the Adelaide 36ers returned to the win column after completing a late rally against Illawarra Hawks, 103-95, in the National Basketball League in Australia on Friday, Jan. 6.
The 36ers unleashed a fiery 18-0 run with four minutes left in the contest to recover from an 89-81 deficit and bounce back from their New Year’s Day defeat.
It was a balanced stat line for Adelaide who had five players in double figures, with Daniel Johnson delivering 18 points on top of eight boards.
Antonius Cleveland, Ian Clark and Anthony Drmic all had 16 points apiece while Robert Franks added 13.
The 7-foot-3 Filipino Sotto, on the other hand, put up another solid performance in a limited 11-minute run on the floor with seven points on a decent 3-of-6 shooting clip while grabbing six rebounds.
Sotto has now made the 36ers’ starting five in six straight outings where they won five of those six matches to improve 11-9 in the standings.
Tyler Harvey paced the Hawks with 22 points.
Adelaide will attempt to stage a surprise and regain its winning streak when it takes on the second seed New Zealand Breakers on Sunday, Jan. 8.